• by Les Luchter , July 7, 2022

McDonald’s has become the first major sponsor of OfflineTV, a gaming-oriented group of social media creators. The fast-food giant’s involvement will include sponsored streams, integrated content and in-person events.

The first tie-in under the partnership took place during July 4 weekend at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, where McDonald’s sponsored an OffLineTV booth that offered consumers photo ops and limited-edition merchandise. 

But that wasn’t the first joint effort from the two parties. Last December, they got together to launch both OfflineTV’s first pop-up store, also in Los Angeles, and a virtual extension of that pop-up that marked McDonald’s first visit to the metaverse.

Scarra, a Twitch star and co-founder of OfflineTV, said that upcoming joint events will include “unique conventions as well as trips to other countries.”

For McDonald’s, the OfflineTV partnership follows last August’s launch of an ongoing content partnership with the FaZe Clan gaming platform.

"Gaming is a huge passion for many McDonald's fans, so we're meeting them in the online communities that they're spending their time in," explained Elizabeth Campbell, McDonald's senior director of cultural engagement.

Other streaming personalities involved with OfflineTV include Pokimane, LilyPichu, Disguised Toast, Yvonnie, Michael Reeves, Sydeon, Masayoshi, QuarterJade, and Brodin Plett.

McDonald’s has stressed the diversity of both of its gaming partnerships. OfflineTV, Campbell said, “allows us to help amplify voices from different backgrounds, knowing the how diverse the gaming community is.” The FaZe Clan partnership, meanwhile, promotes “diversity and inclusion within the gaming industry,” McDonald’s said.

McDonald’s involvement with gamers fits in with the chain’s increasing determination to drive sales through digital activations, a stregy that includes its new virtual summer camp.